Monsoon Celebration:Chili Lime Chana, Salt & Vinegar Chana, Chiwda and Murukku

The daily drizzle in Singapore has made me too lazy to cook, and step out of the house. The weather has given us perfect excuse to slob it out, watch bollywood movies and catch up on reading. But then, movies and books are no fun without masala tea, and tea is not half as good without some spicy munchies!
So here is some of my current favourite nosh which is easy to make, fun to eat, and best of all: guilt free!

Chili Lime Chana
Outside most schools,colleges and cinema halls in Delhi, you can find chana mungphalli bhaiyas, selling little cones of fried, spicy chickpeas and peanuts . As delicious as they are, I no longer have the nerve to mindlessly run through a couple of these in a go. This is a yummy alternative to keep your hands busy while you concentrate on unravelling that movie plot!

For 1 cup of Chili Lime Chana, we need:
1 cup roasted chickpeas
1 Tbsp lime juice ( to taste)
0.5 tsp each chili powder & cumin powder
a pinch of sugar & salt to taste
1 tsp oil
Mix lime juice, salt, sugar, spices and oil in a bowl. Coat the chickpeas liberally with this dressing and transfer to a foil lined baking dish. Go ahead and try one to check seasoning , after roasting it will be somewhat less masaledar than now.

Bake at 160C to 180C for about 7 to 10 minutes, checking after every couple of minutes to ensure it does not burn. The spices and lime should dry down to form a crisp coating on the chickpeas and t
he sugar caramelizes to lend it a nice crunch, try not to skip it:)
P.S : Anyone interested to see what happens if you forget the chickpeas roasting in the oven and let them burn, pls mail me for pics of my first attempt!

Salt & Vinegar Chana
If you like salt & vinegar crisps, you will like these salty, pungent chickpeas
1 cup roasted chickpeas
1.5 Tbsp vinegar( to taste)
salt to taste
a pinch of sugar
1 tsp oil


Mix vinegar, salt, sugar and oil in a bowl. Coat the chickpeas liberally with this dressing and bake at 180C for about 7 to 10 minutes, checking after every couple of minutes to ensure it does not burn.

The method for making both types of chana is exactly the same, only the flavourings differ. The base is dry roasted chickpeas ( bhuna chana), this was what I used.

Update:

If you cannot find Roasted Gram, then try using raw chickpeas, soaked overnight and cooked till tender but retaining a bite, then roast similarly. In this case, they might require roasting longer.These links also describe how canned chickpeas might work in a similar recipe.
Although I have not tried yet, I feel Peanuts roasted the same way would be delicious as well !


Cereal Chiwda

Cereal Chiwda is another really delicious tea-time snack , and of late together with a cup of milk is often my breakfast as well. ( No, I do not mix them and eat !!)


Of course, any one or a combination of your favourite cereals would work well. I used the following:
1.5 cups Cheerios
0.5 cup of Kellogg Rice Krispies
0.5 cup of Cornflakes
0.5 cup of corn pops
a handful of roasted peanuts
2 tbsp of thick sev (optional)
1 tsp sesame seeds
0.5 tsp each of mustard seeds and cumin
0.5 tsp of sugar, turmeric powder and chili powder
1 tbsp of oil
salt to taste

Dry roast all the cereal in a large wok to remove any sogginess and keep aside(this is necessary given the humid weather here, it may not be required if your cereal is crunchy).
Heat half the oil in a large wok, add sesame seeds, mustard, cumin . Add all the cereal together and cook on a low flame for around two to four minutes. Add the spices and the remaining oil and mix well. Add salt and sugar, mix then add peanuts and sev. Cool and store.


Murukku
The final one..Murukku, may not be the healthiest snack around, but is oh soooo.. yummy that each is easily worth those extra 20 minutes on the treadmill!

I picked up a pack of MTR Murukku flour, which just needs to be mixed with water. I also added 1 tbsp of melted butter and 1 tsp of sesame seeds to the mix, and made these using my new murukku maker, which I was wanting to use for a long time.
That's all for now folks !
Enjoy the Monsoon Mania to the fullest !

44 comments:

  1. what a yummy post. i'm gonna try those chilli lime chanas. we add dried cranberries to cereal chivda. gives a tangy bite.

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  2. Ohh I can almost taste the tangy chana.
    Great idea!

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  3. OMG mouth-drooling entry, will make chili lime chana tomorrow, can't wait to try. Chivda and murukku look gooooood too!!!Awesome entry dear!!

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  4. Aaah!Now you are talking ... cereals but not sweet .. and the bonus is the tangy, spicy taste.:-)
    I do not know if I will get roasted chanas here .. right now have some soaking .. and am hating them after seeing your post. :-)

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  5. Yummy and im drolling chilli, lime chana i love those chat pate nuts and mixures..bookmarked the recipes and goin to prepare it

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  6. With all this savouring going on u must have been too busy.....:)

    The chana ideas are a winner....dont know if i wud get roasted chaana here, any pointers for roasting chana

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  7. Hey Delhi belle!!
    thanks for dropping by.....
    Chilli lime Chana looks tempting....
    Just for clarification....Khaman and Sev Khamani are two different dishes...
    Will post the recipe for Khaman dhokla shortly....

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  8. All dishes are sooooo awesome and splendid.....Bookmarked the recipies.

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  9. What a lovely array of munchies... the chilli lime channa is particularly yummy and the chivda too.

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  10. I am in office, it is raining and that post makes me hungry! Too good:) The chatpata combo is just great!

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  11. NOw this is what I call pure torture!!! I would do anything to lay my hands on the chilli lime chana :)

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  12. Amazing post. The lime chana, chiwda and murukku are my fav.. really wonderful pics tooo

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  13. WOW,..SO MNY ND UCH COLOURFUL PICS,..LOVED ALL OF THEM,..EVEN I FEEL LIKE PREPARAIN,..SPECIALLY CHILLI LIME CHANA,..THNKS FOR SHARIN...NIC POST:-)

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  14. Love this, Next time I go to the Indian store will pick these up. Love the chiwda I normally just use kellogs rice flakes now will try the different options too.

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  15. Rashmi, thats one yummy post!!!...talk abt torturing with pictures...do I have to blame your slower for this??...yeah as the question how do we roast the channa?

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  16. thats one big post..excellent one :)...loved the channa pics especially..really good :)...need to try tht one out..

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  17. Hi!
    Thanks for all the lovely comments.
    I have updated the post with some ways I found of substituting roasted chana.
    Hope they work well!

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  18. ur post reminds me all my college daye. when we were in mca, we use to go out and whrever chana or cork flex numkeen we see, we buy and talk for hours. Lovely entry. It had been our companion those day and still we eat this :).

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  19. yumm...i think each snack looks better than the other...i would go nuts :D

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  20. those chilli lime channas are soo mouth watering .. murukku looks lovely

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  21. I especially like the sound of the Chili lime chana. The kid can have his popcorn, and hubby and I can snack on those. Thanks for the recipe :)

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  22. drooooooling over the chili lime chana :)

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  23. Looks like someone's got the munchies!! Yummy stuff...a small something for you on my blog..do check.

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  24. Wow I can imagine... sitting back in India and eating these when its pouring outside !!!
    These savories, a cuppa coffee and a good book would make an amazing combo !
    Best Rgds,
    Sam !

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  25. nice yum.. yum.. i feel like grabbing and munching them...

    do visit my blog when u find time
    http://envittuvirundhusamayal.blogspot.com

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  26. wooo..tis absotuly superb...i can imagine sitting on the beach side and have ur chilli lime chana...delicious....regarding ur question on my recipe, yes u have chopped into big chunks and boiled the eggplant...try it soon and let me know the result... :)

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  27. My vote is for the chilli lime chiwda! looks so yummy!!

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  28. i have passed on the magic lamp to u..chk my blog :)

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  29. do visit my blog.. have something waiting for u....

    http://envittuvirundhusamayal.blogspot.com

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  30. I am nuts about salty snacks, and this post had me really craving some. Especially those murukkus. Everything looks amazing!

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  31. oooh a tasty post DB!! enjoyed each of ur snack very much!! all of them are mouth watering!

    loved ur comment abt mixing the chiwda with milk ;-)

    thanks for sharing!! hopefully i wud mnake it all sometime soooon!! again, just looooved ur wontons ;-)

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  32. Ooo what a fun post,so many snacks in one place,yummy :)

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  33. Perfect monsoon snacking!! Y'know chivda is a lot harder than it looks :-) I can never quite get the perfect balance of spices / flavors :-)

    Smita

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  34. thnks for askin,..he dng fine...:-)

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  35. Those are some really yummy snack treats to munch on with a cup of hot tea.

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  36. Wow, I feel like snacking now! Everything looks awesome!

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  37. thnks for those beautiful words,.regarding dadis post,..couldnt control cryin,..ceeya..

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  38. thats a lovely array of snacks, Rashmi! I love your chilli lime chanas.. I remember having this back in India.. and now tempted to taste again :)

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  39. I could make a few glasses of chai on a rainy day and have these for b'fast, lunch, tiffin and dinner :D Yes, it truly remonds of college days. Fantastic post!

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  40. Geez Rashmi..what a mouth watering post..I really need to try the chilli lime chana :)

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  41. Everything looks so gud...Rain, movie, tea and these chatpata snacks..nice combo :-)

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  42. http://veggiefoodist.blogspot.com/2008/11/fast-paced-munchies-cereal-chivda.html

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